Do You Recognize the 5 Early Warning Signs of Weak Home Security?

If you’re paranoid about the chance of a burglar breaking into your house, you may be correct in your worries.According to the State Farm Insurance Company, someone illegally enters a home every 15 seconds and steals an average of over $1500 worth of stuff. There are more than five million annual burglaries, and most of the victims actually felt secure in their homes before the event happened. Most everyone had lights, door locks, window locks, an alarm system and even a dog. So what went wrong? Unfortunately, it’s not that hard to break into homes. Experienced thieves understand and can easily exploit the weak security points of a home, and they’re good at it.

Alarms- Undoubtedly, you’ve been contacted by an alarm company in the past few months. They’ll tell you that their product is the most important thing you need in order to secure your house. In reality, the alarm itself won’t stop anyone from breaking into your house as it is only activated after the fact—when an intruder is already inside. By the time the police are notified, the burglars can be long gone. What an alarm system can do, however, is act as a deterrent. If a burglar sees that ugly sign that announces the presence of an alarm system, they’ll most likely choose another home. If you don’t display the sign, the deterrent power of the alarm is negated.

Vacation Plans- Social networks are great. With a few keystrokes you can let all of your friends know the exact dates that you’re going on vacation. What you may fail to realize is that you can’t be sure who else you’re sharing your plans with. If you wouldn’t post a sign on your front lawn describing your vacation plans, you shouldn’t post it on the Internet either.

Key Under the Doormat- Don’t laugh. Many thieves let themselves in the easy way and they’re trained to look for that spare key under a planter, behind the porch light fixture or under the proverbial doormat. Never leave extra keys on your property. It’s best to give a neighbor the spare key if you have to.

Lights- The Farmer’s Insurance Company notes that most home burglaries occur during the day. That’s not to say that darkness is not a great cover, however. Obviously a great way to light your home when you’re gone is to use a timer. If the lights come on in the morning and go off at night at the exact same time, a burglar can’t really know whether it’s the work of a timer or a homeowner with OCD. Either way, the criminals will probably look for another house.

Locks- Burglars commonly enter homes through windows or by kicking in doors. Although almost all windows have some sort of rudimentary lock, an upgrade to a modern window locking system is advised. Doors need to be made of solid wood or metal, the strike plates must be heavy duty and attached with three inch screws, and of course, there must be a dead bolt lock. Never buy cheap locks since, although they may look sturdy and secure, even common and inexperienced thieves will have no problem with them.

Burglars take more than just objects and possessions; they can steal your piece of mind for sometimes years to come. Therefore, it’s best to take the time to carefully analyze the security of your home and take the proper actions to shore it up before you also become a statistic.

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